KEY VICTORY #3 “Offense and Defense” is our third key to victory. Any team that fails to excel in both will not win a championship. Let me break this down in a simple way. Throughout the entire Bible we obviously read about thousands of “do’s” and “don’ts.” This is the reason that the world without Christ thinks Christianity is a large book of rules and regulations. They could not be any farther from the truth. True, the Old Testament alone might be more easily construed as such, but even that would be a mistake. Nevertheless, the people of God are told exactly (in detail) in the Old Testament how to, for example, build the tabernacle or the temple, or perform ritual sacrifices and cleansing ceremonies. They are, conversely, told expressly what “not” to do in many, many circumstances. This is “offense” and “defense.” But through Christ, we are to see it in a different light. Ephesians chapter six admonishes us to put on the armor of God which includes both offensive and defensive weapons. For example, the shield and helmet are defensive. The sword of the Spirit is mainly offensive. The Bible tells us to “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, NIV). We clearly see in this verse both the necessity of submitting to God and of resisting the advance from the enemy (temptation). For this series, we might say basically, “Resist ungodly thoughts and actively pursue spiritual thoughts.” We could break that down into other areas of our souls. “Resist destructive emotions and receive godly feelings.” “Defy words of hopelessness or death and speak words of life.” “Resist the lifestyle of sin and live in the freedom given to us by Christ.”However one might perceive our battle, we must do both. We constantly defend our minds/hearts/emotions against unwanted invaders and continually seek God’s thoughts/view/plan/destiny/feelings on the matter (any matter). We defend and exile all carnal, selfish thoughts and feelings and plans and replace them with “God thoughts.” This is the process that must be followed as a “lifestyle” every day, every hour, every moment. This process leads us to deliverance.

CONCLUSION We now know three keys for effectively taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ:

We must thoroughly annihilate the threatening enemy of God while it is still relatively weak, unorganized, and fragile. Remember the famous Luther phrase, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your headbut you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”

Every time we welcome God’s Spirit voice (His wisdom, His plans, His warning, His words, etc.) it is easier to discern His voice the next time. When we say, “Yes God,” then it is so much easier to repeat the refrain the next time…and on it goes as we grow in Christ.

We must utilize offense and defense. There are two sides to the stronghold’s coin. We must resist the enemy’s plan of attack as soon as it is discovered and prevent destructive thoughts, feelings, decisions, and plans from forming a stronghold (defense). Second, we must actively seek God’s thoughts, desires, and plans for our lives.

This is how we fulfill the Scripture that tells us to “capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.”

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